Hygienic practices and acute respiratory illness in family and group day care homes

Objective. To describe hygiene practices in licensed group day care and fam ily day care homes and the association between these practices and the prev alence of respiratory illnesses in the children in attendance. Methods. Self-administered surveys were mailed to 137 group and 204 family day care providers, Results. Wearing diapers and being younger than age three were associated w ith a higher frequency of respiratory illness. Children attending family da y care homes had more respiratory illness than children attending group day care homes, Infrequent washing of children's or providers' hands after nos e wiping, after diapering, before meals, and before food preparation was si gnificantly associated with a higher frequency of respiratory illness. Use of shared cloth towels instead of individual paper towels and washing of sl eeping mats less than once a week were also associated with a higher freque ncy of respiratory illness. Conclusions. The findings underscore the importance of handwashing and othe r hygiene practices in reducing the spread of disease in day care settings.